2014 World Cup: Germany Earned Win Over Argentina in Dirty Final

By Jackee Arce

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The World Cup final is the most crucial of matches, and it is understandable for teams like Argentina and Germany to become more aggressive in hopes of lifting the cup. Some teams at club and international level always play dirty; they will dive a little easier or hit a little harder. It has gotten to be a part of the game. There are also the teams that keep it clean. Those squad have every reason to be proud of every victory they earn, because it was one with a matter of skill not with a matter or trickery and pain. These are the best matches to witness. However, when the pressure is on, it is easy for those types of teams to slip and play physical matches as part of doing “whatever it takes” to earn a win.

Germany deserved their win in every way. They took a lot of hits from Argentina and fell a little too easy a couple times, but they also gave out their share of pain. The most crucial hit for Argentina came from German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer when saving a ball from Argentine Gonzalo Higuain. It did appear to be an accidental hit, but with a knee up that high, it was a true danger to the player. There was no call on the incident and Neuer was able to clear the ball for Germany. It was a harsh call — or lack thereof — but Argentina earned some of their own.

Argentina were saved from having to play with only ten men after Sergio Aguero took down Bastian Schweinsteiger, which even resulted in a bloody face for the German. It probably looked a lot worse than it was, but I don’t think anyone would deny that it was at least a yellow card. It would have been Aguero’s second yellow of the match, but the referee let it slide for Argentina and Auero stayed in. Sadly, it was not enough for Argentina to beat Germany.

On top of it all, it was a good match to watch. It wasn’t a clean match, but both teams wanted to win. In the end, Germany were the team that was able to bring it home.

Jackee Arce is a soccer writer for RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @knackeredwriter, “like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.